Spot On Leg, Indented, Burns In The Sun, Losing Muscle And Fat. Is It Varicose Veins?

Posted on Sat, 19 May 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 18 May 2012 Answered on

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : For several years I have had a spot about the size of a quarter that was indented and burns lightly especially in the sun. Now the are is much larger and I appear to be loosing muscle and fat in that leg as compared to my other leg. Area now is about the size of my hand. this area is on the front of my leg about 3 inches up from the ankle. My doctor keeps telling me its varicos veins ?? I am not convinced. Can you offer another suggestion

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (-1 hours later)

Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
An indented area in the leg which burns on getting exposed to the sun could be just a hypersensitive patch of skin due to sun burns. The loss of muscle and fat in the area needs to be investigated. Most of the times it is due to disuse atrophy.
Do you have any pain during walking? Any history of trauma?
A good close up picture of the lesion will be very much appreciated. This will help in understanding your problem better. You may attach a pic using the "upload your reports" feature on the query page-left hand side.
I will try to help you better after seeing the picture.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar